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Updated on
July 04, 2008,
T.P.
asks from
Cookeville, TN
on
July 02, 2008

Ear Protection for Toddler at Concert, Recommendations?

My 8-year-old gets to pick a trip for his birthday every year and this year he chose a rock concert. Since the bands are religious-based, we aren't worried about the crowds or anything. We found out our 22-month-old can get into the concert for free, which is a relief because we are new in this area and have no access to baby sitters that we know. Because we'll be at a hotel for the weekend, we really didn't want to try and find a sitter for the concert.

What we are concerned about though, is baby's ears. The concert is indoors and we're expecting it to be somewhat loud. Has anybody tried or heard of anything to protect his ears from the noise? We'd particularly like to find something that won't be easy to remove or he'll just keep taking it off.

So What Happened?™

Concert was last night and went very well! You had great advice. We did all end up using ear protection, foam plugs for the grownups and headsets for the kids. The advice about hunting departments was great -- we got the headsets at Walmart in sporting goods and they were much cheaper than what we had found online for music. The baby's lightweight set worked so well, he slept through the loudest two bands! The people around us called him "baby earmuffs." I'm making my husband keep the headsets now for mowing the lawn and using his power tools. Thanks so much.

Featured Answers

A.H.
answers from
Chattanooga
on
July 02, 2008

Here is an idea I have thought of, there are ear plugs that are made of soft wax that can be formed to fit into their little ears to protect from water when swiiming these might be do the trick for loud noises as well and they are not to easy to remove.

More Answers

A.H.
answers from
Greensboro
on
July 03, 2008

I want to second what the mom wrote about protecting the whole family. My Dad has extreme hearing loss from concerts and has been adamant my whole life about me wearing ear plugs places. What I learned by doing so is that the concert is MORE enjoyable. You can hear everything perfectly through earplugs but all the sounds are muted a little and don't hurt your ears. The bonus is that as you leave the concert no one's ears will be ringing!

Hello T.!
I would suggest the pliable wax ear plugs used for children who have tubes and cannot get water in their ears. They mold exactly to the shape of the outer ear (do not insert them in the ear canal) and should serve as a good sound barrier. A toddler would not find them easy to remove, but you should have no problem. Have fun at the concert!

2 things to try....one is called Ear Planes and available at most drug stores. They are for flying in airplanes and these ear plugs are very soft and comfy and they conform to the shape and size of the ear. Also, try some good old fashioned ear muffs like you wear in the winter time. He may prefer to have them on once he hears how loud the music is. Also check with the venue and see if there is a "quiet" room or "parents" room where you can go and get away from the noise and excitement if he becomes agitated. Good Luck and enjoy the show!

There was a picture of Gwyneth Paltrow with Little Apple wearing headphones at her Daddy's concert. They came from Peltor Kid ____@____.com may also find "isolation headphones or earmuffs" for babies at guitar stores or other music stores and online. Good luck.

Hi T.,
I am so glad that you are thinking in terms of ear protection for your littlest fella, but I would like to encourage you to be prepared to protect your entire family's ears...especially BOTH kids!

Prolonged noise at the decibel level of most concerts is more than enough to cause permanent hearing loss. This type of loss is caused by the shearing of tiny hair in the inner ear that transmit the high frequency sounds. Each time we lose more of those high frequency sounds, our ability to hear becomes more distorted.

Like most folks, my brothers and I pooh-poohed the hearing risks in exchange for going to concerts when we were in our late teens and early 20's...now all four of us have hearing losses great enough to merit hearing aides!!

I cannot imagine what our losses might have been like had we started attending concerts at 8 years old!

I teach Deaf and Hard of Hearing kids and I know how precious hearing is...PLEASE protect your entire family if this concert is as loud as most. Each time we are exposed to this level of sound (and you would be surprised at how often that can happen in today's world) we lose more hearing. It does not take many exposures before we find ourselves hearing---but not understanding what was said.

With the fourth of July around the corner, I hope that many folks are thinking as intelligently as you are and are looking into ways to protect their children's hearing!

Moldable ear protection can be found in the pharmacy section of most stores...If inserted correctly, most of these "ear plugs" will lower the decibel level about 30dB.

You might also call an audiologist and ask for suggestions. Most would be more than happy to help you avoid noise induced hearing loss!!

Try to avoid sitting directly in front of any speakers, have your entire family wear ear protection and ENJOY the concert!!

Here is an idea I have thought of, there are ear plugs that are made of soft wax that can be formed to fit into their little ears to protect from water when swiiming these might be do the trick for loud noises as well and they are not to easy to remove.

Hey, I have 4 kids and with our 4th he went everywhere with us including loud places! Instead of earplugs I bought him those ear covers. I don't know what they are really called. They look like earmuffs but they are for sound. I think that I got a child size pair at drugstore.com.
I've also bought them at sports stores. They are usually in the gun/hunting section.